UK sees 96% drop in EU nurse applications since Brexit vote

The number of nurses from the EU registering to practise in the UK has dropped by 96% since last year's Brexit vote, new figures reveal.

In July last year, 1,304 EU nurses registered to work in the UK, falling sharply to 344 in September and a mere 46 in April 2017.

The new data, obtained by the Health Foundation via a Freedom of Information Act request to the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), were unveiled as there is a shortage of 30,000 nurses in England alone.

Health Foundation director of research and economics Anita Charlesworth said the figures 'should be a wake-up call to politicians and health service leaders'.

She added: ‘Clearly action is needed to offset any further loss of EU nursing staff in the near future. But the overall shortage of 30,000 nurses is not a shortage caused by the Brexit vote.

'The chronic shortage of nurses is the result of years of short-term planning and cuts to training places. A sustainable, long-term approach to workforce planning is desperately needed.'

NHS Digital are the body responsible for generating all the workforce data (alongside other data sets) within the NHS. Every time you hear a Minister quote a figure - the official government source will be NHS digital.